Experiencing discomfort in your wrist while Snatching or feel like your turnover is too slow? Nicole Lim and the California Strength Weightlifting Team weigh in on whether or not you should release your hook grip when receiving the Snatch overhead.

We are just under four short weeks away from competing at the 2017 American Open Finals. Because our team only competes a handful of times every year, having success at this competition is really important. As we get closer to game time, I like to really hone in on a couple extra things to ensure that I won’t have too many excuses as to why I didn’t perform well (jk, I’m going to do great!).

Any exercise that requires an overhead component is largely considered a core exercise. To improve stability in your overhead movements like Snatch and Jerks, we can apply unstable components to specific movement patterns in order to increase our kinesthetic awareness. One method in particular that I have found to be a huge help over the years are perturbations.

For the most part, exercise (like weightlifting) can improve your sleep quality and duration. However, it is common to see your sleep habits disrupted as a result of aggressive exercise and that can impact your recovery. Some studies suggest that excessive or aggressive exercise can overstimulate the bodies natural stress responses and stress hormones, leading to an increased heart rate and alertness. Throw into the mix a pre-workout Fast Twitch RTD and you could have trouble falling asleep missing critical recovery gains as result. We have pulled some tips that you can implement TONIGHT to dramatically change your sleep habits and improve your recovery.

Everyone can Snatch, everyone can Clean but only champions can Jerk. - Ivan Abadjiev

Looking for a sure fire way to determine which Jerk variation is right for you? In this week's Technique Talk, we break down the similarities and differences between the Split, Power and Squat Jerk variations in an all out assault on demystifying one of the most technical movements in Olympic weightlifting.

Taking a look back at the American Open Series and Pan American Championships last month in Miami, Florida there were a number of notable performances across the board. One thing is ABUNDANTLY clear, weightlifting in the United States continues to improve across every weight class and gender.

AmericanDonovan Ford, a veteran in the sport,put together a dominating performance winning the Snatch, Clean & Jerk and Total on his way to gold in the 105kg weight class.

We had a chance to catch up with Donovan to discuss his American Open performance and his training that led up to the meet.

We’ve all been there. Some days our hands are just raw from training. After training 4 to 6 days a week for 5 years on top of a full time job where I’m constantly washing my hands, I’ve managed to take pretty good care of my hands so that I have minimal tears or discomfort when I’m lifting. Here are a couple tips that have helped me along the way.

Every so often in a coaches life an athlete comes along that changes you. That athlete is transformative in the sense that they make you a better. They challenge you to become something more, not through explicit demands but through sheer appreciation for their raging fire to master their athletic discipline. Wes Kitts is one of those athletes...

Think your weightlifting program is perfect? You've accounted for volume, intensity, exercise selection and have lined up your periodization to peak at the perfect time; but wait. Have you added mental reps into the equation? All your blood, sweat and tears could easily be for not if the mental side of training is forgotten. Don't worry, we have you covered!

Subscribe

Sign up with your email address to receive articles & news directly to your inbox. Keep up to date with your favorite California Strength team members, news from the gym, and insights from the Godfather "Dave Spitz" himself.